Design
The Ontario Southern had a unique design. It was an early example of a monorail, consisting of a single running rail which was laid on top of a wood beam, with guide rails mounted on each side. The majority of the line was elevated 10 to 30 feet (3 to 9 meters) on wooden posts, giving rise to the nickname "the Peg-Leg Railway". The line also passed through one small tunnel under a road.
The passenger carriages were open sided and had a total of six benches in a back-to-back configuration. These were powered by batteries for the first two years of the line's operation. In the final year, a trolley wire was installed. Power to charge the batteries, and later to energize the trolley wire, came from a generator connected to a stationary steam engine located at the Crystal Beach end of the line.
Read more about this topic: Ontario Southern Railway (Ontario)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)